Like it or not, the 3D craze does not seem to be going away any time soon. Paying a little more for a 3D movie ticket is one thing but who wants to go out and buy a brand new 3D camera? Now, with Snapily3D from HumanEyes Technologies, iPhone and iPad owners do not have to.
Using the simple on-screen instructions, users can take their own 3D pictures. From there, they have the option to order 3D prints directly from the app, share pictures through services like Facebook and Twitter, or view the photo right on their phone using various kinds of 3D glasses. There is even a glasses-free, cross-eyed mode and the option to manipulate a 2D photo, in 3D space, with the gyroscope. The app also features more conventional camera functionality like face detection and high definition shooting modes.
Preserve precious memories in three glorious dimensions. Snapily3D is available now on the App Store.
Rune Raiders, a game recently announced by developer retro64, is a fantasy action strategy game with game mechanics reminiscent of a fast paced board game. With a focus on accessible controls and varied gameplay with a liberal sprinkling of RPG elements, this game will have lots of features to get excited about.
Mike Boeh, founder of retro64 call Rune Raiders “a fun, and really accessible game whose control scheme will be instantly familiar to iOS players so they can jump right in and watch the carnage unfold.” The game is laid out with hero and enemy tiles that the player directs and interacts with. The game will also include 12 individual heroes with unique weapons, armor, and abilities. The game consists of 15 levels, a random survival mode, 15 unique enemy types, three bosses, and different terrains.
Rune Raiders is set to launch on March 15th for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch at a $1.99 price point.
Today marks the arrival of over 60 Marvel graphic novels on the Apple iBookstore. Fans of the popular comic books can now find their favorite Marvel heros including the Avengers, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Captain America, the Hulk, and others. These graphic novels (compilations of several comic book issues) range in price from $8.99 to $24.99 and free previews are available for each title.
After purchase, these titles will be optimized for and viewable through Apple’s iBooks app on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad in full, vibrant color. Marvel has announced that it will be releasing new titles every week, and an extended preview of the New Avengers Vol. 1 is currently available for free.
To view all of the Marvel graphic novels currently available for download in the iBookstore, go here. Marvel fans can now add iBooks to their favorite ways to read and reread the stories of their favorite mutant heros.
Since 1997, Midtown Comics has been bringing comics and collectables to fans everywhere, first through storefronts in New York City, then to a wider website audience, and now to comic fans with access to an iOS device. Users can use the Midtown Comics app to get access to Midtown Comics’ impressive inventory whenever and wherever the mood strikes them. Users can browse comics, statues, action figures, collectibles, clothing, and lots of other comic inspired paraphernalia. Orders can be placed via the app and delivered right to the users door or set aside for in-store pickup. Users will get much of the same functionality of the Midtown Comics website in the app so they can search through the inventory easily. One important thing to recognize is that this is essentially a storefront app and not a comic reading app; all comics sold in this app are physical copies to be delivered or picked up.
The Midtown Comics app is available to download now in the App Store for free.
Smartphones are changing how we see the world. With the cameras on them becoming more and more powerful, phones are now able to see our reality and present it back to us in an augmented form. It may ultimately just be an advertisement for their “Shake it Up” campaign, but Tic Tac mints’ new Tic Tic Viewr app still shows off how novel augmented reality can be.
Using their phone’s camera, users can scan Tic Tac boxes and ads to reveal hidden content. Users will find funny and inspirational “Shake it Up” tips as well as 20 “Shake It Up” microgames providing extra fun after the scanning is over. Imagine getting a new game just by scanning a random Tic Tac ad at a bus stop. It’s as easy as taking candy, in this case mints, from a baby.
Tic Tac Viewr is currently available for free on the App Store. Uses can also download it by texting “MINTS” to 313131.
The increasing power and proliferation of smartphones has given us an increasing amount of ways of connecting with each other. However, all of these new communication venues have also given us an increasing amount of contact information to keep track of. Android users already know how Xobni’s app Smartr Contacts can help simplify that process and now iPhone owners can too.
Smartr Contacts pulls data from various sources in order to create a master contacts list. Whether someone is a Facebook friend or a LinkedIn connection they will be accounted for. Smartr Contacts then puts that person’s email, phone number, picture and whatever else it can intelligently detect in one handy place. The app keeps track of recent communications one has had with their contacts and will even rank contacts in order of importance. Think of it as a way of knowing who one’s real friends are.
While the app works with other existing social networks like Twitter, in order to use Smartr Contacts one must sign up for a Xobni account. Smartr Contacts is available for free on the App Store.
Thanks to the Team Stream app sports fans have been able to stream all of the coverage they could ask for on their smartphones. Tablet owners on the other hand have not had such a privilege, until now. Team Stream HD is available now for iPad.
Team Stream comes courtesy of Bleacher Report, “the Web’s fifth largest sports media destination with more than 22 million monthly unique users.” With the app, users can receive their own personal sports news reports. Similar to Flipboard, Team Stream searches the web and services like Twitter to collect and deliver information on whatever teams and sports the user wants. So whether one wants the latest scoops on college football, professional golf or local MMA tournaments they can find them with Team Stream.
The extra screen size of the iPad makes navigation easier while showing more of an article at once. The “HTML5 Experience” means no photo or video content is lost. Team Stream HD is a free download on the App Store.
ON Voicefeed from Orange Vallee has a pretty compelling pitch. “You wouldn’t greet your partner the same way that you greet your boss – so why treat everybody the same when it comes to your voicemail?” But thanks to the newest update, released to coincide with CES 2012, voicemail customization is just the start of what this app can do.
The biggest new feature is the inclusion of the new On Chat app. Now, in addition to organizing voicemails, the app integrates with Facebook and Twitter’s messaging services. All voicemails and messages can be viewed and shared in a single conversation screen and text can be copied from one source and pasted into another. Using the new menu tab users can handle notifications easier and added map functionality allows users to locate their contacts’ location. All of this is presented through new interface changes like the conversation screen’s bubble design.
The free version of ON Voicefeed limits users to three personal greetings and one generic greeting. For $9.99, users can lift that restriction. The update is available now.
When I saw the name of the app Ask the Cheesemonger, I immediately thought two things. One, that is the greatest app name in the history of apps. It’s short, to the point, and uses the word “cheesemonger” in the title. Two, how does one obtain the title of “cheesemonger”? Go to school, get a master’s degree in cheesemongering, in order to join the prestigious cheesemongering firm of the McIntosh and Bowman Cheesemongers? Those questions were not answered, but I got a lot of info on cheese!
Ask the Cheesemonger features a list of cheeses, with information on their taste, texture, and basic facts on the cheese’s ingredients, like what sort of milk is used in the production of the cheese. There’s also a wine matcher for matching up a delicious adult beverage with a cheese whose flavors will complement each other. There’s a cheese trivia game, to test one’s knowledge on cheese. Still have cheese questions? Then check out the “Ask the cheesemonger” section where common questions about cheese are answered, along with the ability to send an email directly to a cheesemonger. For $2.99, the full version of the app can be unlocked, granting acces to info on over 300 cheeses, additional trivia questions, and more alcohol pairings. Proceeds benefit cheesemongering.
SugarSync has been allowing users to sync all sorts of media across computers and mobile devices for over a year now. With so many people getting their first taste of cloud computing and storage thanks to this past year’s holiday gifts, SugarSync has decided to give them proper welcome. A new update has hit the service adding a host of new features.
Together, these new features streamline and speed up the media management process. Users can now upload multiple files at once instead of one at a time. Files will also now sync in the background allowing users to enjoy their devices while they update.
When syncing photos, users can choose to load low quality versions at a faster rate, higher quality versions at a slower rate or a compromise between the two. The photo tab has also been redesigned making it much easier and quicker to view and share albums.
SugarSync is available for free on pretty much any Mac, PC and mobile device out there.
Kickstarter is increasingly being used to help finance the development of apps; the latest attempt at financing an app through the crowdsourced funding site is an interactive story app called The Last Sleeper. This app will feature the work of Halo 4 producer and designer Kendall Davis, Lord of the Rings sound designer (and Oscar winner) Ethan Van Der Wyn, composer Steve Jablonsky (known for Gears of War 3 and Transformers), among other veterans of the gaming industry working on this app. The story is described as a hybrid of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance, featuring characters Adam and Fera, who develop their relationship as they try to restore their planet of Ephos. However, hurdles arise, and an evil entity named The Shadow must be dealt with along with their personal issues. User input will help to guide and direct the story along, which tries to integrate the sound and visual design along with the user interactions. The app is currently in the funding stage, and is planned for release in the summer of 2012. For more details and concept art, check out The Last Sleeper‘s Kickstarter page.
The unique look and feel of stop-motion animation is what gives movies like A Nightmare Before Christmas and the Wallace and Gromit series their charm. Mac users have been bringing ordinary objects to life with this technique for years now thanks to iStopMotion from Boinx Software. Now iPad users can also have the power to create and share their own stop-motion animations with the release of the iStopMotion for iPad app.
Like any form of animation, stop-motion works by playing a series of frames so fast that they appear to be moving. What sets stop-motion apart is that its frames are pictures of real things that have been carefully re-positioned numerous times instead of drawings. iStopMotion for iPad allows users to capture these frames, edit them into movies and share them online all through an iPad. It’s a cheap way to make movies and learn about the animation process while doing it.
Also available is the iStopMotion Remote Camera app which allows users to capture frames with their iPhones and sync them with their iPads via W-Fi. That way movies can look the best they can thanks to the superior cameras of the latest iPhones.
iStopMotion for iPad is $4.99, iStopMotion Remote Camera is free and both are available now. Why not celebrate the holidays by making some homemade Rankin/Bass specials?
Apple likes to boast that their products allow us to connect to each other in fantastic new ways. It’s a tall claim to say the least. However, what stronger connection could there be than the one between parents and their children? The MotherKnows app is trying to help prove Apple right by giving parents a new way to monitor their child’s development and more easily be prepared for medical emergencies.
Working in conjunction with the MotherKnows website, the app stores all sorts of health records like growth charts, medication lists, graphic displays of immunizations and other information collected directly from doctors and regularly updated, all on an iPhone. This is particularly useful for quickly providing places likes schools and camps with anything they may need to know regarding a child health-wise. Parents can use the app for little tasks like scheduling appointments and for more long-term tasks like tracking their child’s progress. Parents can even create milestones like “first steps” and take a picture to go alongside it.
Although the app can sync with one’s MotherKnows account when accessing data one doesn’t need to purchase an account in order to use the app. MotherKnows is currently available for free on the App Store.
Apps allow us to create so many different kinds of things. Everything from movies to presentations to auto-tuned songs can be made on Apple’s mobile devices with these little programs. Thanks to Amildio Inc, the maker of apps like Touch DJand Seline, soon users will be able to add one more thing to that list: laughs.
Laugh Synth is an app designed for creating, sampling and synthesizing the sound of laughter. Users can record their laugh and then manipulate it through touch into an entirely new, hilarious sound. Four different effects can be applied in addition to the fine-tuned pitch controls. The app has 25 built-in presets making it easy for users to get started creating synthesized “lulz.” Not a bad start for the “world’s first laugh synthesizer.”
Users can email their hand-crafted laughs or share them through Facebook and Twitter. Laugh Synth is currently available for $0.99.
During the holidays retailers are so desperate to unload as much product as possible it seems like they’re offering new deals and promotions every other minute. Between managing coupons and having to wake up at five in the morning, just trying to save a few dollars can become overwhelming. Billeo is attempting to make that process a bit easier with their new ShopSmart app for iPad.
Using information from users’ credit card loyalty programs, services like Groupon, and the retailers themselves, ShopSmart scours the web looking for deals that may interest users. By using so many data sources ShopSmart is able to present the largest possible savings with the average being 10 percent saved per purchase. Facebook support allows friends to offer opinions on items before purchases are made and the eWallet feature fills in payment and shipping information making checkouts quick and easy.
Maybe Black Friday won’t be so bad this year. ShopSmart is free and available now on the App Store.
Whether it’s football season or March Madness, it seems like there is always something going on in the world of sports for rabid fans to follow. Luckily for them, the new PlayUp app, “the first social network app for sports fans,” is here to help these people stay connected all through their mobile devices. It’s like having a sports bar anywhere.
PlayUp tracks stats and real-time scores from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and college football and basketball games. International leagues like the English Premier League Soccer and Australian Rules Football are represented as well. Fans of a particular team can track their progress and interact with other fans in chat rooms while games are on. Soon users will also be able to answer trivia questions and play other games through the app. They have to do something during the off season.
PlayUp is currently available for free on the App Store. It sounds like the next best thing to having a portable tailgate party.
Flipboard, the iPad social magazine app, has announced that Comedy Central’s hit show “The Colbert Report” is becoming a content provider, Mashable reports. This marks a big step for what Apple proclaimed was the best iPad app of 2010 because it is the first video contributor to be added the service. Before this announcement, rumors had been circulating that Flipboard would make this move.
What sets Flipboard apart from other media aggregators is how it presents user data from social networks and websites in the form of magazines for users to flip through. It remains to be seen though how video will be integrated into this model beyond just having a dedicated video section. We do know that users won’t be able to watch full episodes, just clips and tweets from Colbert himself, a self-proclaimed iPad fan.
Flipboard’s video section is currently live. Although “The Colbert Report” is the only announced partner, with Paramount Pictures and Bud Light signed on as advertisers that should change soon. Flipboard is available for free now on the App Store.
Ever since its launch, iPad users have had the chance to create and display slideshow presentations thanks to the Apple’s own Pages app. However, while presentations made in that app can be easily brought over into Microsoft’s popular PowerPoint program, doing the opposite is far more troublesome. Brainshark’s new SlideShark app hopes to fix that.
Bringing PowerPoint presentations to an iPad through SlideShark is a three step process. First, users create an account and get access to their own private server. Presentations are then loaded onto that server and converted. Finally, the app downloads the presentation in a form the iPad can display. Unlike other similar apps, SlideShark promises that no fonts, colors or animations will be lost.
Using the iPad’s native mirroring capabilities, users can play their presentations through a computer or projector. Best of all, the service and the app are completely free. The SlideShark app is currently available on the app store and accounts are created at www.SlideShark.com.
The 26 million users of the Formspring social network now have a new way to send and receive responses from friends, celebrities or whoever else with the launch of the official Formspring iPhone app. Since its launch in 2009, Over 3.6 billion responses have been sent through the network. With this new app, now responses can come from anywhere.
After setting up their profiles, Formspring users ask questions to each other and receive responses, furthering the conversation. With this app, users can now share photos as well, a feature coming to the browser version too. The app can also access users’ iPhone contacts and add them to their Formspring friends list in addition to getting data from Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace.
Formspring is currently available for free on the App Store and is coming soon to other mobile platforms. This is just the beginning of Formspring’s big push into the mobile space.
As the iPad continues to revolutionize enterprise, products from established software companies are being given new life. ProSel, from the 25-year-old sales software provider Ai2, is just the latest example. ProSel brings Ai2′s mobile sales solutions to the world of tablet computing.
Designed for wholesale distributors, ProSel gives professional users streamlined access to their large amounts of data through digitization and automation. This includes data like item catalogs, inventories, bar codes, changing prices and taxes, and even promotional materials. In addition to reducing paper clutter, ProSel also allows sales representatives to easily make presentations to retail customers, place large orders, and handle returns while cloud syncing over WiFi or 3G quickly makes sure that everything accurate and up to date.
A free demo of ProSel is currently available on the App Store. Companies wishing to integrate ProSel into their office system receive full support from Ai2 engineers as soon as they license the software. Once finished, companies can access their information through their custom version of ProSel.
Mac users may recognize Fetch Softworks for its long-running series of file transfer apps but now the studio has made its debut on the iPad with Roadshow, “the first all-in-one iPad app for offline Web Video.” Using Roadshow’s custom browser, users can search for videos on sites like Vimeo, MSNBC and Funny or Die and save said videos for later offline viewing.
Roadshow users can also stream their content to their TV wirelessly via AirPlay on AppleTV, or through a wired HDMI connection. Unfortunately, due to Apple’s restrictions, Roadshow is unable to save YouTube videos. Still, response on the App Store seems mostly positive with users saying the app works as advertised. The biggest feature Fetch Softworks may want to look into adding in later versions is the ability to rename and better organize downloaded videos.
Users can download a free, ad-supported version of Roadshow that only stores up to 15 videos. For $4.99 users can then purchase the in-app Roadshow Unlimited Upgrade, removing the ads and lifting the video limit.
Aoi Advertising Promotion, a large Tokyo-based TV commercial production company, has recently launched an initiative to bring their knowledge of film production to crews everywhere in the form of iPhone apps. The first of these apps, Director’s Finder and Frame Watch, are now available on the App Store in their original Japanese-language forms.
Director’s Finder allows location scouts to turn their iPhones into virtual cameras capable of simulating various kinds of film stock and lens focal points. This includes the ability the mimic over 50 real-world cameras by Arri, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, RED, Weisscam and more as well as standard film formats like 16mm and 35mm. The captured footage can then be shared via email along with GPS coordinates and other relevant data.
Frame Watch’s price is $2.99 compared to Director’s Finder’s current sale price of $7.99 ($15.99 normally and also available in a lite version) and its feature set is appropriately less robust. Basically it is a stopwatch with a calculator built-in that allows directors to easily determine frame rates. There are presets for 24, 30, and 60 frames per second.
Stay tuned for more info on Aoi’s upcoming film apps.
Spotify has landed in the US with a great deal of press coverage and speculation, but what is it, exactly?
Spotify is a streaming music service – more akin to Rdio or MOG than the randomly-generated playlists of Pandora – that has one killer feature its competitors don’t. It’s free. Yep, once an account is established (which is tricky at the moment – more on that in a bit), streaming is enabled for Macs and PCs through the iTunes-like Spotify desktop client. The catches are relatively minor. The free service is ad-supported, so expect to hear song snippets when you least expect them, or see an ad for Coke dominate your Spotify screen for a few seconds. Taken as a whole, however, it’s a lot of content for the surprising cost of nothing.
For those wanting more, Spotify offers an Unlimited Plan for $4.95 which features unlimited streaming to PC/Mac with no ads or a Premiere Plan for $9.95 a month to stream all content to the iPhone and select other devices. If you’re hurting for an invite to join the fun, you can jump to the head of the line by purchasing an Unlimited or Premiere plan…or…
You can win one of two invites to Spotify USA by helping us reach 2,000 fans on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/148apps. Once we hit that magic number, all of our recent fans’ names go into a hat for a random drawing. Two lucky winners will receive invites to the music party of the year.
It just goes to show you how popular the apps from Outfit7 are. The makers of the Talking series of apps released Talking Tom 2, a free app, last week and nearly instantly saw 1.8 million downloads. And the most amazing thing is that it was downloaded over a million times on Sunday alone according to a tweet from Outfit7 CEO Andrej Nabergoj.
Outfit7 must be the most downloaded app company on the App Store with well over 100 million downloads across all of their apps. Their series of talking animal apps are hugely successful with kids and adults alike.
Andrej Nabergoj, Outfit7′s CEO remarked “With more than 55 million downloads and a cameo on ABC’s hit Modern Family, it’s clear that Talking Tom Cat has fans around the world eager to see how his character & story will evolve,Talking Tom Cat 2 not only offers a new look and story for Tom but also makes it really easy and appealing for people to create and share their stories. We are really about empowering our users to become story-tellers themselves through original characters and creative interactions.”
Amazing success. While these apps are not the kind of app we generally report on, the amazing success has to be noted. Congratulations Outfit7!
When you learn about major events in U.S. History, especially events such as Pearl Harbor that occurred quite some time before your own birth, it’s with a certain amount of disconnect that you absorb all of the information delivered. There’s an understanding of the severity of the event, the lasting effects such an event has, and a general acceptance of how it changed U.S. culture for years to come. Text books can’t really convey, however, the true effect a major event has on the psyche of an individual who has been through that specific historical event. .
September 11, 2001 changed that for many of us. I was in high school when the planes hit, safely observing from my northeastern Ohio classroom. I don’t know anyone who died that day, or anyone who was directly affected. I can only express the realization I came to that day. My grandkids would be reading about September 11th in a text book, and would only be able to study the event, never really fully grasping the profound impact it had on our society.
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum released an iPhone app this year that offers all of us a chance to remember the event, and visualize some moments through the eyes of witnesses directly affected by this event. Three different options are available that provide a look into this tragic day: Tour, Explore, and Timeline.
For those of you taking a trip to New York or currently living there, the tour feature of this app provides you with a step by step walking tour, complete with directions and movies at each location to help bring you into the moments when the planes hit the buildings. First responders, rescue workers, and those in or around the area on that day share their stories as you walk through seven specific areas around Ground Zero. The movies in the tour section are powerful, and are beneficial to watch even if you aren’t in the New York area.
The other two tabs in this app, Explore and Timeline, help the user recount the events of that day and what’s planned for the future. Pictures and events are mapped out in a fairly straightforward fashion, and overhead views of what the current construction, and finished product, will look like in regards to the memorial and museum.
These features are all available offline. Online features include additional photos in the explore section of the app. For non-U.S. visitors, a free wifi hotspot map is included with the app to help you utilize the full potential of the app on your WiFi enabled iOS device.
Opinions on the relevance of this app, whether it’s in poor taste or not, and if it really offers a realistic look at the events of September 11th will be up to the user to decide. Walking tours using the iPhone as a guide are a great concept, and more apps should follow this kind of on-demand tour approach for other tourist heavy areas. Personally, if it helps my kids or grandkids get a better sense of an important historical event, I’m all for it.
For more information on the 9/11 Memorial, please visit national911memorial.org.
I still remember all you can eat steak night at the local Ponderosa. My cousin and I would chomp down four or five steaks each before we were both ready to burst at the seams. What we were eating was just a shadow of what steak is supposed to be, however.
Early in 2010 I took a vacation to Chicago. During my stay I visited a high end steak house, the Grill Room. This was my first interaction with how great “real” steak was. Our waiter (are they called waiters at steak houses?) brought out a huge plate of meat to display to us, explaining what each piece of meat was, how it was prepared, and the methods of cooking. It was at this visit that I learned “real” steak places won’t prepare steak past medium.
Steak Grilling Timer & Recipes is a grill timer for steak that provides much of the information I learned at a “real” steak house. Multiple steaks can be added, with each being allowed unique cuts, thickness, and cooking levels. Each steak timer can be started separately, to ensure that all of the steaks get done at the same time. Setting up each steak for cooking is the easiest process I think I’ve experienced in an app on the iPhone. The app even takes into consideration preparation on a gas grill, a charcoal grill, or inside.
Steak Timer is much more than a timer, however. Each cut of steak has a laundry list of facts, including how it was cut, cooking techniques, and the various forms that particular cut comes in. Recipe information can be searched through for individual cuts as well, ensuring multiple preparation techniques for each cut. Did I mention all of the above is available without an internet connection?
For those with an active internet connection, additional features are available. A Steak-Enthusiast blog is available directly inside the app, and Kansas City Steak Company runs a monthly drawing for a $75.00 gift card that can also be accessed directly inside the app.
If you’re a steak lover, you owe it to yourself to check out this free steak timer and database from Kansas City Steak Company. It doesn’t provide endless amounts of information, but provides the most important information that any steak lover would need, each time steak is for dinner. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to return to my daydreaming about the masterpiece of a dinner I had at the Grill Room in Chicago again.
Welcome, my fellow masters of geekdom, to a new monthly special running here at 148apps entitled iD&D. Each month you’ll find me, your friendly resident Dungeon Master, offering you info on some of the best (or worst) apps available in the app store that make it easier (or harder) for us to do our job. Don’t worry players; you’re not left out either. There are plenty of apps, including one that’s part of today’s article, for you as well.
Additionally I’ll be asking you, the reader, to provide us with some information each month that I will provide to the readership in the following months article. For example, this week’s question will be a survey on people who use an iDevice to enhance their pen and paper experience. Check out the end of this article for more details.
Caveat: I play the majority of my games using the Advance Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 gaming system. I’ll be referring primarily to Dungeons and Dragons (3.5), but unless otherwise stated, expect the majority of apps in this section to be universal in application. For those apps specifically for the fourth edition game system, I’ll be running smaller mini-campaigns to get a feel for their usefulness. If there may be variances from system to system, I will do my best to point them out.
Well, if I knew the 148apps lawyers, I’m sure they would be elated with me right now. As for me though, I’m anxious to get into our first article. Continue reading iD&D: Battlemap »
Rune Raiders, a game recently announced by developer retro64, is a fantasy action strategy game with game mechanics reminiscent of a fast paced board game. With a focus on accessible controls and varied gameplay with a liberal sprinkling of RPG elements, this game will have lots of features to get excited about.
Today marks the arrival of over 60 Marvel graphic novels on the Apple iBookstore. Fans of the popular comic books can now find their favorite Marvel heros including the Avengers, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Captain America, the Hulk, and others. These graphic novels (compilations of several comic book issues) range in price from $8.99 to $24.99 and free previews are available for each title.
:: GO GREEN
When I saw the name of the app Ask the Cheesemonger, I immediately thought two things. One, that is the greatest app name in the history of apps. It’s short, to the point, and uses the word “cheesemonger” in the title. Two, how does one obtain the title of “cheesemonger”? Go to school, get a master’s degree in cheesemongering, in order to join the prestigious cheesemongering firm of the McIntosh and Bowman Cheesemongers? Those questions were not answered, but I got a lot of info on cheese!
Kickstarter is increasingly being used to help finance the development of apps; the latest attempt at financing an app through the crowdsourced funding site is an interactive story app called The Last Sleeper. This app will feature the work of Halo 4 producer and designer Kendall Davis, Lord of the Rings sound designer (and Oscar winner) Ethan Van Der Wyn, composer Steve Jablonsky (known for Gears of War 3 and Transformers), among other veterans of the gaming industry working on this app. The story is described as a hybrid of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance, featuring characters Adam and Fera, who develop their relationship as they try to restore their planet of Ephos. However, hurdles arise, and an evil entity named The Shadow must be dealt with along with their personal issues. User input will help to guide and direct the story along, which tries to integrate the sound and visual design along with the user interactions. The app is currently in the funding stage, and is planned for release in the summer of 2012. For more details and concept art, 
During the holidays retailers are so desperate to unload as much product as possible it seems like they’re offering new deals and promotions every other minute. Between managing coupons and having to wake up at five in the morning, just trying to save a few dollars can become overwhelming. Billeo is attempting to make that process a bit easier with their new ShopSmart app for iPad.
Whether it’s football season or March Madness, it seems like there is always something going on in the world of sports for rabid fans to follow. Luckily for them, the new PlayUp app, “the first social network app for sports fans,” is here to help these people stay connected all through their mobile devices. It’s like having a sports bar anywhere.
Flipboard, the iPad social magazine app, has announced that Comedy Central’s hit show “The Colbert Report” is becoming a content provider, 
Ever since its launch, iPad users have had the chance to create and display slideshow presentations thanks to the Apple’s own 
The 26 million users of the Formspring social network now have a new way to send and receive responses from friends, celebrities or whoever else with the launch of the official Formspring iPhone app. Since its launch in 2009, Over 3.6 billion responses have been sent through the network. With this new app, now responses can come from anywhere.
As the iPad continues to revolutionize enterprise, products from established software companies are being given new life. 
Spotify has landed in the US with a great deal of press coverage and speculation, but what is it, exactly? 
It just goes to show you how popular the apps from Outfit7 are. The makers of the Talking series of apps released Talking Tom 2, a free app, last week and nearly instantly saw 1.8 million downloads. And the most amazing thing is that it was downloaded over a million times on Sunday alone according to a tweet from Outfit7 CEO Andrej Nabergoj.
When you learn about major events in U.S. History, especially events such as Pearl Harbor that occurred quite some time before your own birth, it’s with a certain amount of disconnect that you absorb all of the information delivered. There’s an understanding of the severity of the event, the lasting effects such an event has, and a general acceptance of how it changed U.S. culture for years to come. Text books can’t really convey, however, the true effect a major event has on the psyche of an individual who has been through that specific historical event. .
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum released an iPhone app this year that offers all of us a chance to remember the event, and visualize some moments through the eyes of witnesses directly affected by this event. Three different options are available that provide a look into this tragic day: Tour, Explore, and Timeline.
Early in 2010 I took a vacation to Chicago. During my stay I visited a high end steak house, the Grill Room. This was my first interaction with how great “real” steak was. Our waiter (are they called waiters at steak houses?) brought out a huge plate of meat to display to us, explaining what each piece of meat was, how it was prepared, and the methods of cooking. It was at this visit that I learned “real” steak places won’t prepare steak past medium.
For those with an active internet connection, additional features are available. A Steak-Enthusiast blog is available directly inside the app, and Kansas City Steak Company runs a monthly drawing for a $75.00 gift card that can also be accessed directly inside the app.
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